News from Manta
We (the adaptive equipment team at Prótesis Imbabura, Ibarra, Ecuador) traveled to Manta on the coast to teach about adaptive design principles and practice. We evaluated the 14 kids and completed projects for 12 of them in a week.
We arrived at this beautiful coastal town for a week of teaching, evaluating, and problem-solving. The center (Fundación Rostro de Jesus) would like to start an ADA workshop. They informed me before the course that they would like to focus on evaluation and technique, not just completing the projects. But then, 14 moms showed up with their kids, and they want their projects completed.
These moms and dads were really hard workers and we completed the projects! The last two days we had time for artistic design in sewing and painting of the projects.
Some of the projects were very challenging. All of the children either don’t have wheelchairs or have woefully inadequate strollers, wheelchairs and baby carriages. We mostly used tri-wall cardboard fabricated from recycled cardboard boxes, but the cardboard is flexible and soft because of the humidity and we have to double up.Some need bath seats for children and young adults with complicated body conformation. We don’t have to fit the seat into a shower stall because they use a bucket of water outside to bathe. Their clever mechanic constructed one out of PVC combining ideas from pix of commercial models and lawn furniture.
We worked on the roof. Our work space includes piles of bricks, wood beams and other carpentry paraphernalia, various pipes, rebar, and tubes that stick up out of the floor a few inches, a batch of puppies (and everything that goes along with that) a hammock where various children rest, buckets of something or other, onions and other vegetables drying, and hanging laundry for about 10 people.
We have plans to come back for two weeks in July for further work and training! The Manta workshop has strong support in the community and we hope to see the second adaptive design workshop in Ecuador become a reality.
About the Author
Kit Frank has 40 years’ experience as an occupational therapist and specializes in assistive technology. She has volunteered with the disability community in Ecuador for 23 years. Kit has led the Adaptive Design Workshop since 2008, providing custom adaptive equipment such as standing tables, adapted seats, trays, easels, and wheelchair adaptations.